Modern Botany Oil Review

Modern Botany Oil Review

Winter; love it or hate it, we can’t avoid it any longer! While the Halloween chocolates and sweets are doing no favours for our waistlines, the blustery winds and freezing temperatures (snow warnings already, seriously?) are playing havoc with our skin!

The Science behind the Bottle

Enter Modern Botany. A new Irish skincare brand (with an Instagram page so incredible, we are genuinely considering relocation), made from natural ingredients and inspired by the ‘Irish Wild Atlantic Way’, their oil claims to be used for moisturising, cleansing, stretch marks and scarring.

But can we really throw out all of our existing products in favour of this new natural oil? Lets find out…

First up, the seed oils

Sunflower seed oil

Sunflower seed oil is high in linoleic acid, a fatty acid that has been shown to improve the skins barrier, increasing hydration of the skin, so not only moisturising our skin but also helping to speed up the time it takes for the skins barrier to repair itself. That’s a check for moisturising and improving the appearance of scars and stretch marks then!

While other emollients can just act to mask the problem and temporarily relieve uncomfortably dry skin, sunflower seed oil can actually help to solve our biggest winter skin concern.

Borage seed oil

Borage is a plant native to the Mediterranean region, whose oil is traditionally extracted from its seeds and is rich in omega-6 fatty acids. When combined with the fatty acids from the sunflower seed oil, this powerful little duo gives roughed-up and stressed-out skin a healthy dose of moisture!

Avocado seed oil

Avocado oil contains several moisturising fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acids, to name a few), which are naturally found in the skin, so can assist sunflower and borage seed oil in their quest to strengthen the skins barrier and lock in that much needed moisture – hydrated skin is happy skin! When used topically, avocado oil can also increase the synthesis of structural proteins of the skin, meaning it’s a fab ingredient for skin healing!

The benefits of avocado oil don’t stop there though, avocados contain significant levels of vitamins C and E, which are powerful antioxidants so they can protect against free radical damage resulting from excess UV exposure, which could lead to accelerated skin ageing if left unchecked!

Flax seed oil

Last one, we promise! Flax seed oil works in a very similar way to the other seed oils we’ve mentioned, as it too is high in linoleic acid, which is a major component of ceramides (lipids in the outer layer of the skin that form the barrier and prevent water from escaping).

You may think loading lots of oils onto our skin could be problematic, especially for those of us who have naturally oily skin to start with but in fact topical application of seed oils can prevent our skin from overproducing sebum and can help minimise acne outbreaks!

Squalane

Working alongside these ingredients is squalane, which due to its incredible likeness to squalene (a component of sebum), it is quickly and easily absorbed by our skin and is great at keeping it hydrated.

Squalane is also a natural UV absorber, and helps protect the skin’s lipids that are susceptible to being degraded by sun exposure. Good news all round.

What about its ability as a cleanser?

Based on the idea that oil dissolves oil, it allows ingredients like sunflower, borage and avocado seed oil to dissolve excess oil from the skin and remove any make up and dirt, without stripping the skin of its natural oils.

Our verdict

If you’re on the hunt for a multi-tasking, natural and reasonably priced oil, then look no further, you’ve found what you need. It’s rare that we geeks find a product that can back up all of its claims with science, so it’s safe to say we’re impressed!